Good news for laid-off NASA workers in Houston

The Labor Department today awarded a $3.1 million emergency federal grant to the Texas Workforce Commission to help cover re-employment services for workers laid off from NASA’s Space Shuttle program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, the dean of the Houston-area congressional delegation, announced the Obama administration’s decision.

“This is an important step to helping those who lost their jobs as a result of recent program decisions at NASA,” Green said.

“Our recent experiences with job losses and brain drain at NASA emphasize the need to continue important programs, such as Orion and (the space launch system) which both Congress and the president have committed to fully funding.”